Over the past 18 years, I have developed myself into becoming a leader in the insurance sales industry. I have successfully owned and operated two insurance agencies, Name My Premium, which was included in the Inc. 5000 in 2015, and Managed Benefit Services, which continues to help generate leads for businesses to connect with clients.
My experiences in building the profitability and brand awareness of both companies, along with my passion for improving client relations and customer retention has led me to my most recent venture as founder and CEO of a new consulting firm, MAIS Consulting.
One would assume that launching a new business during a global pandemic could incur quite a few risks. On the other hand, as a leader in marketing and sales, I see it as a great opportunity to expand many possibilities. Over the past few months, our entire lives have turned more digital than ever. Many businesses have had to switch their in-person sales models to web-based platforms.
Lately, I have had many conversations surrounding this topic, including how to improve business outreach, customer retention, and overall sales by building a solid social media marketing plan. While every business is different, the end goal is the same—to improve profitability and sustainability. The era we are in is leading us to becoming more and more virtual, and how do we set ourselves apart from the rest? Keep reading to learn five creative ways to market your business on social media.
Five Creative Ways to Market Your Business on Social Media
Tip #1: Choose Your Platforms
When selling anything, it is important to know your ideal customer and where you can find them. Are you selling products to corporations? You may want to leverage LinkedIn as a preferred source of marketing. But, if your product is designed for college students, Instagram and TikTok may be where you focus more of your advertising.
Whichever the case, it is important to utilize all chosen social media platforms to their fullest potential. Build a complete profile to ensure users understand who you are, what you are offering, and how they can connect with you.
Equally important, use each platform to cross-promote the others. For example, share your Instagram handle on your Twitter and Facebook profiles to let audiences know where they can find you.
Build a following on each platform, sharing similar, but not identical posts that will capture attention, and hopefully, loyal followers and customers.
Tip #2: Build Your Community
Once you have created your profiles on the social media platforms that make the most sense for you and your business, you will want to let others know you are out there. Utilizing simple, trending and brand-specific hashtags will help grab the attention of like-minded users.
You can create targeted ads on each platform to help enhance your messaging and bring others to your site. Targeted ads are a great way to reach the specific demographic you are looking for. You’ll be able to track the ad reach, progress, and connections to identify what really resonates with your preferred audience.
It is also a great idea to collaborate. Start connecting with those businesses and influencers who can assist in your overall messaging. Boosting another business or individual on your profile will enhance your exposure, and it is a great way to build a community.
Tip #3: Encourage Engagement
An important aspect in a successful social media marketing campaign is user engagement. You don’t want to post images and text for the fun of it—you want people to engage and respond and become loyal customers of your product. The best way to market your brand and your product is to utilize the resources you already have, and this includes those that are already loyal to you, such as your employees, friends, and family. Ask them to like, share, comment, post, etc. to create additional awareness. The more engagement a single post has, the more visibility it has across the platform. And don’t forget to engage with them, too!
For some businesses, it is a great idea to create ambassadorship opportunities through your social media sites. The social media “influencer” is a big deal these days. Everyone wants to share what they are doing, what products they are using, and how much they love certain brands. Use this energy by allowing others into your brand’s family. Create an opportunity for others to get involved in your company by offer small incentives to share your message—it can be as easy as providing them with additional exposure on your platform. Remember, collaboration? Everyone loves working together to put themselves ahead.
Tip #4: Provide Value to Your Audience
A successful social media marketing campaign will provide value to its target audience. People not only need to believe in what you are attempting to sell them, but they need to feel that it will improve their lives in some way as well. Creating connections with your target audience is the first step, but you want to make sure this connection lasts, so you need to design an effective campaign that will do that.
Depending on your business model, this can look different for everyone. Some will create a campaign that provides social-only discounts or offers various contests with prize giveaways. Others will provide interesting and useful facts surrounding their area of expertise. For example, those in the real estate industry will share their monthly progress, highlighting their status as an effective sales agent and enticing others to use their services the next time they are buying or selling a home.
These days, people love to see things as they are. They love the “behind-the-scenes” activities of your day-to-day business activities. You might want to showcase certain activities through short videos or provide exclusive access to a new product before it hits the shelves. Whatever your angle, remember to be authentic!
Tip #5: Track Your Stats
I mentioned earlier that it is a great idea to create targeted ads to boost your audience. It is equally as important to track the progress of those ads, and your post engagement in general. Focusing on the real data of both organic and paid reach will allow you to make necessary adjustments to your overall messaging, creating a stronger audience connection and enhancing your brand awareness.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive, but following these simple guidelines will place your company in an elevated position of awareness. Social media is a fantastic tool to build a business and a brand, and by following a few simple principles, it can improve your sales performance and overall sustainability.
I am thrilled to have launched a new consulting firm dedicated to building optimal success for each company I partner with. Our goal at MAIS Consulting is to empower your team and outfit them with the tools they need to succeed.
social media marketing written on notepad -DepositPhotos
